Friday, August 05, 2011

Have ever bought an ingredient just because it’s so darn pretty? That happened to me at the farmers market this week—I saw a basket of red onions and was dazzled by their deep color and delicate texture. They were exquisite and while I didn’t need them, I sure did want them. So I paid the farmer and proudly brought the basket home.

Then it occurred to me—what am I going to do with all these onions?

We eat a lot of onions in my family. My grandma grows them at her farm, and is always tossing them into dishes—raw or cooked. My mom is also an onion fanatic. If you ever hear her talk about her favorite Tex-Mex dish, you’d swear that the cheese enchiladas were merely a vehicle for her true desire—that shower of diced, white onions on top.

With an onion-loving lineage such as that, it’s kind of strange that I didn’t embrace them until later in life. Growing up, if a few onions made it onto my plate I’d quickly pass them to someone else. Fortunately, those dark days are long gone and it’s a rare meal where I don’t do something with an onion.
That said, when confronted with so many, I was stumped as to why I thought it was a good idea to bring them home. Onions last a long time and it’s a rare savory recipe that doesn’t call for them. But my kitchen is tiny with little storage space; I needed a way to use a lot, fast. When exploring my options, I considered making soup or a tart until a friend said, “You should make red onion jam.”

And you know what? She was correct.

There are countless recipes out there for onion jam and I took inspiration from one I found from Texas Monthly. One thing that struck me as strange about most recipes is that they called for brown sugar. I decided to scratch that ingredient, as I find slow cooked onions are plenty sweet on their own. But I do like a little heat with my sweetness, so I threw in some chipotle chiles to give the onion jam some spice and spark.

Have you ever cooked something and been unable to stop tasting it? Yep, that was me with this jam, and as it neared the end of the cooking process, I kept marveling at how a huge pile of onions could reduce to something so rich, sweet and savory. This stuff is good.

So what do you do with spicy red onion jam? Well, it’s a natural partner with roasted or grilled meats, and would be incredible on a cheeseburger, a steak or even a cheese quesadilla. And if you stir it into softened cream cheese, goat cheese or sour cream, you will have just made the world’s best onion dip.

Though, if you’re like me, you might find yourself eating it straight from the jar with a spoon.

Method:
On low heat, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and garlic, and while occasionally stirring, cook for 10 minutes or until softened.

Cover the skillet, and cook for 20 more minutes, stirring once. Uncover the skillet and add the chipotle chiles, balsamic vinegar and cayenne. Stirring often, cook until the vinegar is reduced and onions are softened and a dark, red brown, about 10-15 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature. Will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

I like the flavor of onion, but I really don't like the texture of them. That's the main reason I would want to chop/mince them as small as possible. If I were to chop everything as small as I possibly could, would that reduce the cooking time necessary? Or would I need to reduce the temperature to prevent burning?

I so appreciate your site. Always entertaining, I am so glad to get the red onion jam recipe. It goes well with everything, especially those hot seasoned crackers made with Hidden Valley Ranch mix. Be glad that you are not in Texas(Dallas) at the moment.....temperatures ranging 110 F daily. Regards, Jane

After shopping for the red onions at the Dallas Farmers Market this morning I came home and made this. It was so delicious and went well with grilled chicken. I see jars of this as gifts in the near future.

Oh yum. Now I have a project for this week. Oh, and I'm always buying things at the farmer's market just because they are pretty or interesting. A few weeks ago I bought purple beans that turned green when you cooked them. They were tasty and like a some sort of cool crayola product!!

I love onion jam with a passion! I've been eyeballing red onions at the farmers markets, and now I'm thinking I have a reason to buy loads and freeze this jam. I can think of so many uses (including a French-Texan onion soup?).

This looks amazing! I often make a sweet onion jam and use it for everything from sandwiches to risotto. But spicy and smokey jam? I can't wait to try it! I am so sure it must be awesome as dip, or on grilled steak. Maybe in a quesadilla? Yum!

Just made my first batch and immediately burned my tongue on it!! It's delicious!! Thank you for this great recipe, I never thought I can have too much onion one day, but had a great harvest this year!!

That frantic scribblng sound you hear? Is me copying down this recipe (my printer is on the fritz) and then biking to the store to buy red onions right this second. This sounds absolutely amazing. I love red onions, I love chipotle, I really love a recipe titled "jam" that doesn't use half a cup of sugar...I can't wait to eat half of this out of the skillet while I cook it. :)

We have a kitchen garden and my husband was talking about how he'd planted 200 onions (half red, half yellow). I was excited because I thought "Wow! I can make that red onion jam!" So I told him to go harvest the red onions. He came back with a largish lunch sack.Me: What's this?Him: Your red onions.Me: (laugh)Very funny. Where are the onions?Him: Their in that sack.Me: (dumbfounded look) What?!?

That's right, our red onion haul consisted of 80+ red onions small enough to fit in a large lunch sack.

These would be great on tacos. When I was at one of my favorite local restaurants they had something similar on their beef tacos and it was wonderful. I will have to try these - the sweet spiciness must be awesome!

I love onions too, almost never cook anything without them to layer flavor. Red ones almost came into my life late...I worked for an Indian family as a personal chef and she preferred them over others, so now I am hooked!